CONSUMERISM PRACTICES OF KOREAN POP FANS COMMUNITY ANNISA WIDOWATI SUNDARI DANCERS IN JAKARTA

E-Journal of Cultural Studies

DOAJ Indexed (Since 14 Sep 2015)

ISSN 2338-2449

Nov 2020 Vol. 13, Number 4, Page 39-50

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CONSUMERISM PRACTICES OF KOREAN POP FANS COMMUNITY ANNISA WIDOWATI SUNDARI DANCERS IN JAKARTA

Diana Rosca Apria¹, A.A Anom Kumbara², I Nyoman Darma Putra³

¹Master Degree Programme of Cultural Studies, Universitas Udayana, ^2,3Cultural Studies Study Program, Faculty of Arts, Udayana University

email : ¹[email protected], ²[email protected], ³[email protected]

Received Date    :  29-05-2020

Accepted Date    :  25-10-2020

Published Date   :  30-11-2020

ABSTRACT

Globalization facilitates the spread of culture from one country to another. From globalization, K-Pop has finally begun to be enjoyed by Indonesian society. One of the effects of the Korean culture fever in Indonesia is the consumptive behavior or lifestyle among teenagers who are K-Pop fans. Annisa Widowati Sundari Dancers Community or what is commonly called as AWS Dancers community is one of them. The reason why this community has been chosen as the object of this research is because AWS Dancers community is popular among K-Pop fans in Jakarta. This study used a cultural study approach that is analyzed qualitatively. Data collection is carried out by the method of observation, interviews, and document studies related to K-pop culture in Indonesia. Data were analyzed with hegemony theory and culture industry theory. The results of this study show that the emergence of the K-Pop culture industry ultimately inspired K-Pop fans to form a community, namely AWS Dancers who performed dance cover activities. In addition, K-Pop culture industries such as music, drama, food, cosmetics and electronic goods made teenagers who are members of the AWS Dancers community was hegemonied to buy and consume these things. As a result, various implications arise, such as dissipation among the members of AWS Dancers, hyperreality towards South Korea, the increasingly eroded Indonesian culture and celebritization among members of the AWS Dancers community.

Keywords : consumerism practices, korean pop, AWS community, hegemony, culture industry

INTRODUCTION

The world nowadays is becoming increasingly developed by technology. This transformation can help having great knowledge of knowledge. One example of technological development is the development of visual and sound machines or commonly called the media (Lyotard, 2019: 5). The emergence of media that must become an industry not only plays an important role. The emergence and development of this industry is a specific historical 39

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process that is compiled by comparison with modern society. The media industry, including television broadcasting, is currently changing massive changes and has a significant influence on the features of media products, production styles and their distribution (Thompson, 2015: 280). The emergence of technology and media ultimately makes interaction throughout the world free and open as if national borders are narrow (Puspitasari and Hermawan, 2013).

This relates to the globalization of culture which is said to be a symptom of the spread of certain values and cultures from a country to the entire world so that it becomes a world culture (Puspitasari and Hermawan, 2013). Based on this explanation, it can be seen that culture can be spread easily due to the influence of globalization so that it becomes a world culture. With this acceleration of globalization, the environment that influences the development of the state and nation becomes a result of the interconnection between the most important elements in the global, regional, national and local environment (Ibrahim, 2014: 37). One example of the case of accelerating globalization is that countries have succeeded in spreading their culture to various parts of the world such as Japan and South Korea, which will later be referred to as Korea.

Cultural flow from Japan to various parts of the world, especially Asia, is an interesting phenomenon in this era of globalization, for example lovers of anime, comics, games, whose numbers can reach hundreds of thousands in the world (Saleha, 2013). After the Japanese state which had already spread its culture through Japanese Pop (J-Pop), South Korea began to spread its culture through Korean pop (K-pop). At present Korea has succeeded in spreading its cultural products internationally in a short span of time. Various cultural products and other products made it to various parts of the world and colored the lives of the people (Jung, 2011: 5).

Another interesting thing to note is that the simple enjoyment of drama, pop music, and movies has been changed to a strong preference for other South Korean products such as electronics, cellphones, cars, fashion, cosmetics, and food and lifestyle. This growing interest in South Korean culture has subsequently triggered a drastic increase in foreign tourist visits to the country. More and more people around the world are learning Korean, leading many universities to open Korean language majors in response to popular requests to help people enjoy Korean culture more specifically South Korea (Jung, 2011: 6).

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The above is one of the consumption of popular culture. A consumption of a popular culture will always bring up a group of fans, that fans are the most visible part of the consumption of an activity or product (Storey, 2006: 161). As a result of the consumption of popular culture which in this case is K-Pop culture, there are various groups of fans with various activities. For example in Indonesia, especially in Jakarta there is a fan group named Annisa Widowati Sundari Dancers Community or commonly referred to as the AWS Dancers Community. This community is one of the K-Pop fan communities in the Jakarta area. This community was formed in 2013 and is still ongoing. The purpose of the formation of this community is to accommodate young K-Pop fans who love to dance. This community usually imitates the movements of Korean artists when dancing and singing, besides that they also always take part in dance cover competitions (competitions imitating the dancing styles of Korean artists). This community also always holds meetings every week to just practice, gather, exchange opinions and hold several events around K-Pop. Most of them admit that being a K-Pop fan makes them spend a lot of money just to buy an album or even their idol concert ticket if the artist visits Indonesia to hold a concert or other K-Pop needs

CONCEPTS AND THEORIES

In this study, the authors used four concepts which are the concepts of globalization, popular culture, consumerism and hyperreality. Globalization according to Robertson (in Barker, 2004: 117) refers to the narrowing of the world intensively and increasing our awareness of the world, namely the increasing global connections and our understanding of them. The narrowing of the world is understood based on the institutions of modernity, while the reflexive intensification of world consciousness can be perceived better through a cultural perspective (Barker, 2004: 118). Whereas popular culture refers to opponents of high culture and / or mass production of commodity culture and consumer capitalism. In this definition, popular culture is considered inferior to the high culture of art and classical music on the one hand and authentic folk culture on the other (Barker, 2014: 210). The term popular culture comes from the Latin language that is popular culture. This term can be interpreted as the culture of the community or ordinary people (Lubis, 2016: 71). Consumerism is an understanding in which a person or group carries out and runs the process of using goods that are produced excessively, unconsciously, and continuously (Rohman, 2016). Whereas Hyperreality is a concept used in a number of postmodern thoughts which more or less refers 41

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to the idea "more real than real". Hyperreality describes the way in which the simulation or artificial production of 'real life' runs their own world to construct reality. A hyperreality for Baudrillard (in Barker, 2004: 303) is where we are crammed with images and information.

The theory used in this research is the theory of hegemony and the theory of the culture industry. The theory of hegemony which, according to Gramsci, implies a situation in which the historical bloc of the ruling class exercises social authority over the classes below it. The concept proposed by Gramsci proved to be very influential in cultural studies because this concept provides space and does not deny the importance of popular culture as an ideological struggle ground (Barker, 2014: 119). Whereas the culture industry theory wants to state that the culture industry shapes the tastes and tendencies of the masses, thereby printing their awareness of false needs. Therefore the culture industry tries to obscure the real needs of society. The culture industry is so effective in doing this that people are not aware of what is happening (Strinati, 2007: 69).

RESEARCH METHODS

This research was conducted using qualitative research methods and site selection in DKI Jakarta province. This research consists of two types of data sources, namely primary data and secondary data, where primary data is obtained from interviews with informants and secondary data is obtained from document sources in the form of notes, recorded images or photographs, and observations of related events. with research focus. Determination of informants in this study, based on competence to provide information related to consumerism that occurs in the AWS Dancers Community. The informants in this study were the chair of the AWS Dancers community and several community members. Data collection techniques in this study can be grouped into three, namely; (1) observation, (2) interview, and (3) study of documents by searching and finding documents related to the research topic.

DISCUSSION

The results of this study were obtained from various sources in accordance with the data collection techniques described earlier. The results of this study will be explained in three discussions including the following; (1) the process of forming AWS Dancers Community in Jakarta (2) consumerism practices that occur in the AWS Dancers Community in Jakarta,

E-Journal of Cultural Studies DOAJ Indexed (Since 14 Sep 2015) ISSN 2338-2449                                             https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/ecs/

and (3) Implications of the existence of consumerism practices that occur in the AWS Dancers Community in Jakarta.

The process of forming Annisa Widowati Sundari Dancers Community in Jakarta

Annisa Widowati Sundari (AWS) Dancers Community was first coined by Annisa Widowati in 2013 to accommodate young K-Pop fans who loved the world of dance to join dance cover activities or activities to imitate the dance movements and styles of Korean artists. Before forming a community, Annisa (founder of the AWS Dancers community) had many fellow K-Pop fans, each of whom had performing arts talents such as dancing and singing. In addition, Annisa is one of the many K-Pop fans in Jakarta who often watch dance cover competitions held around the Greater Jakarta area. In the end, after watching a dance cover competition held at one of the malls in Jakarta, Annisa was inspired to create a community whose focus was to do dance cover activities. This is felt by Annisa as one of the right steps to be able to make this community as a medium and a place for fellow K-Pop fans to be able to express their creativity, especially in the field of performing arts (dance) and add many friends. This was revealed by Annisa (25 years old) in the following interview results;

Indeed, before this community was formed I had many friends who could dance and sing. Plus, I also actively see dance cover competitions. After I went home (watched) from the dance cover competition at the Ciputra Mall Jakarta, I thought why not make the community who participated in this activity also, this was also beneficial for my friends so that they wouldn't play around and could focus on developing their hobbies like dancing and following the style of Korean artists they like (Interview, 24 October 2019).

Based on the results of the interview above, it can be said that Annisa as the community leader of AWS Dancers has been hegemonyed by the rise of dance cover activities as one of the impacts of the culture industry products (which in this case is Korean pop) so that it raises the desire to form a community that carries out activities dance cover.

The AWS Dancers community, at the beginning of its formation, held auditions for members who would join this community. The auditions are in the form of dancing and choreography in accordance with one of the songs and dances of Korean artists he likes. Besides dancing auditions, Annisa (AWS Dancers founder) also interviewed prospective members about what motivated them to join the AWS community and asked if they were willing to pay their own expenses which would later be used to purchase equipment when

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they performed in dance cover activities. such as cash every week, fees to enter the competition, costume costs and makeup costs. This was revealed by Annisa (25 years old) in the following interview results:

Before they join this community, they must be audited first. The reason why there should be an audition is because this is a dance cover community, where they have to be able to dance, even if they can't dance, as long as there is a willingness to learn, they may join. They will also be interviewed a little about the motivation why they want to join this community, and about whether or not they are prepared to pay for costumes and so on. They were told from the beginning about the bitterness of participating in dance cover activities so that they too were not surprised and disappointed after joining (Interview October 24, 2019).

According to Ardymas (a member of the AWS Dancers community), he first joined the

AWS Dancers community in 2013. He got information about an audition held by the AWS Dancers Community from a friend. Before auditioning, Ardymas was required to learn a choreography that was delivered by one boy band from South Korea. He was then audited directly by Annisa and interviewed about the reasons for wanting to join the AWS Dancers Community. This was revealed by Ardymas (22 years old) in the following interview:

When I first started joining the AWS Dancers Community around 2013, at that time, one of my campus friends who also liked K-Pop gave information about dance cover auditions and was also told that there would be a dance test, so I learned about a week of choreography. I will bring it from VIXX boy band, after that I come to audition and meet Annisa directly. Then there were a few interviews about why they wanted to join the AWS Dancers Community (interview, 26 October 2019).

In addition to spreading information about auditions by word of mouth, the AWS Dancers Community also intensively disseminates information through their own social media such as through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Social Media becomes one of the places for them to promote and show their activities while holding dance cover activities, both through the AWS Community's social media and the personal social media of their respective members.

After gathering a number of members, the community began holding regular meetings held every weekend between Saturdays and Sundays. Activities that are usually carried out during meetings between members of the community are doing dance cover exercises and gathering to simply exchange opinions on concepts that will be presented when performing later. Over time, the AWS Community has increasingly grown with many members joining. Since 2013 the AWS Dancers community has been recorded as many as 56 members, with

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an average age of 16-23 years. And as explained in the interview above, the members did not only come from Jakarta but came from nearby cities such as Depok, Bekasi, Bogor and Tangerang.

Consumerism Practices in Annisa Widowati Sundari Dancers Community in Jakarta

Furthermore, this sub-chapter will present the results of research on consumerism practices that occur in the K-Pop fan community, Annisa Widowati Sundari (AWS) Jakarta Dancers, including; (1) making K-Pop dance cover costumes, (2) dance cover hairstyles, (3) purchasing cosmetics, (4) other community needs, and (5) needs outside of dance cover.

First, making costumes is done to support their appearance when they appear as well as when participating in dance cover competitions. Making dance cover costumes can cost around Rp. 500,000 up to Rp. 700,000 rupiah per person for one costume. According to Ihsan (one of the members of the AWS Dancers Community), sometimes they have to make and wear new costumes on each dance cover competition so that they can look different in each of their performances. This was conveyed in the following interview with Ihsan (22 years old):

For dance covers, we really have to be as close as possible to the Korean artists we cover. So every time we enter a competition or competition sometimes we have to make a new costume again so that it doesn't seem monotonous, because sometimes, the judges of the race are just that and that, they must also realize that the costumes we wear are just that and that if we don't often over. The average cost spent per person to make costumes can be used up Rp. 500,000 make a costume once (Interview, 24 October 2019).

Picture 1. Filenada dance cover group costume, AWS Dancers Community (AWS Dancers Community Documentation, 2015)

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Secondly, the unique dance cover hairstyles are also done to support the members' appearance when participating in the competition. Members of the AWS Dancers Community dye their hair with striking colors such as red, gray, blonde, green, blue and pink. The reason they chose to dye their hair with these colors was because they followed the hair color of the Korean artist they imitated and they idolized. They cost around Rp. 300,000 to dye their hair in a salon.

Third, the purchase of cosmetics is also not spared from things prepared to support their appearance. Cosmetics / makeup purchased by members of the AWS Community as previously discussed become a necessity and need to support their appearance when participating in competitions / races. It became a sign that the culture industry eventually shaped the tastes and tendencies of the masses, thereby printing their awareness of false needs. Where members of the AWS Dancers Community buy various items to simply support their appearance. Therefore the culture industry tries to obscure the real needs of society. The culture industry is so effective in doing this that people are not aware of what is happening (Strinati, 2007: 69).

Fourth, other community needs such as holding cash every week around Rp. 10,000, -The money collected from the cash proceeds will be used for consumption needs for members when the dance cover competition is taking place and also for the transportation costs of its members. Fifth, the needs outside the dance cover are purchasing concert tickets, purchasing merchandise, purchasing K-Pop albums, eating Korean foods, eating Korean drama and using paid music applications such as Joox and Spotify.

Picture 2. Lightstick usage when watching the KPop Concert (Source: Documentation of Ihsan AWS Dancers, 2019)

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Implications of Consumerism Practices in Annisa Widowati Sundari Dancers Community in Jakarta

Furthermore, this sub-chapter will present the results of research on the implications of the practice of consumerism that occurs in the Annisa Widowati Sundari Community (AWS) Dancers, including: (1) the waste, (2) the existence of hyperreality towards South Korea, ( 3) Indonesian culture is increasingly eroded and (4) there is celebrity in K-Pop fan communities which also leads to roleplaying activities in the community.

First, there was a waste where members said that they had wasted a lot of money on dance cover and other needs related to K-Pop. At first they were willing to spend money because they liked the world of K-Pop and the world of dance cover, but more and more they began to realize that they were spending quite a lot of money. The view of waste according to Baudrillard as opening up the fact that we are not in an era of real abundance, that every individual, group or society today is placed under a sign that is rarely found or extraordinary. Whereas in general these are the things that support a very interesting myth about the increase in abundance and which makes waste associated with a spectrum that threatens extraordinary. However, all moral views of waste as dysfunction are taken back according to a sociological analysis that gives rise to actual functions (Baudrillard, 2004: 32).

Secondly, there is hyperreality towards K-Pop and South Korea. Hyperreality towards South Korea is felt by members of the community, where they assume that whatever comes from South Korea is considered the best and the best. For example, Virgi (a member of the community) said that he once bought a Samsung mobile phone because he had seen the brand in one of the Korean dramas he watched. At that time he began to know that Samsung and its competitors LG was a South Korean product, and finally after a time, he bought Samsung because it was a South Korean product. This was revealed by Virgi (20 years old) in the following interview results:

I used to buy a Samsung cellphone, because I watched Korean dramas, the actress used a Samsung cellphone and to be honest, it was very funny. Finally I asked my parents to buy me a Samsung cellphone. (Interview, 3 December 2019).

Third, Indonesian culture is increasingly eroded. Where the emergence of globalization ultimately facilitates K-Pop culture is widespread. Including in Indonesia, this makes teenagers who are members of the AWS Dancers Community like various things related to South Korea. Ihsan (22 years) feels that more and more insights about South Korea such as 47

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language, traditional culture related to the arts and also the culture of Korean society that refers to the habits of the people. This was conveyed by Ihsan (22 years old) in the following interview results:

As I became a fan of K-Pop and joining the AWS Dancers community, I became more knowledgeable about South Korea as their language, besides that I also knew the cultures and habits of the people there such as bowing to meet more people old and many more (Interview 24 October 2019).

Fourth, another implication is the emergence of a sense of celebrity in K-Pop fan communities that are involved in the dance cover field, especially in the AWS Dancers community. The emergence of celebrity among K-Pop fan communities makes them also want to experience how to live as a Korean star or artist. Ihsan (member of the AWS Dancers community) added his opinion about the love of the members of the AWS Dancers community towards K-Pop and South Korea, namely the community members who always fantasize about becoming a real Korean artist. One way for members of the AWS Dancers Community to express their desire to be like their idol artists is by doing role playing / roleplayer, but both words are usually abbreviated as "RP". Actually Roleplayer is more associated in the world of gaming or games, but specifically on this K-Pop roleplayer fans play by playing their idol figures, the media used by fans, especially members of the AWS Dancers community is Twitter.

CONCLUSION

Based on the results of the research that has been presented previously, conclusions can be drawn from the results of consumerism research practices on Korean pop in adolescents of the Annisa Widowati Sundari (AWS) Dancers community:

The process of forming the Annisa Widowati Sundari (AWS) Dancers community was motivated by globalization and the role of the media that made K-Pop culture develop in Indonesia. Annisa (community leader) was inspired to create a community whose focus was on conducting dance cover activities. This is felt by Annisa as one of the right steps to be able to make this community as a media and a place for fellow K-Pop fans to be able to express their creativity, especially in the field of dance and add many friends and relationships. Consumerism practices that occur in members of the AWS Dancers community are; (1) buying various necessities for dance cover activities which include making dance cover

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costumes, dance cover hairstyles, (2) other community needs such as cash that is applied once a week, and (3) personal needs of community members outside of dance cover like purchasing tickets for Korean artist concerts, and so on. These results in the amount of costs that community members must spend to fulfill their passion for K-Pop.

Third, due to consumerism practices that occur in the AWS Dancers Community, several implications occur and are also felt by community members, namely; (1) waste occurs due to the purchase of various items purchased related to K-Pop by members of the AWS Community; (2) Indonesian culture which is increasingly eroded due to the emergence of Korean culture that is increasingly in demand by the community, especially teenagers who are members of the AWS Dancers community, and (3) the existence of hyperreality towards South Korea which has led to a new phenomenon among community members, which is perceived celebrity by members of the AWS Dancers community. As a result of this celebrity, roleplayer activities among K-Pop fan communities, especially the AWS Dancers community, are increasingly mushrooming.

The suggestions of consumerism practices towards Korean pop that occur in adolescents of Annisa Widowati Sundari (AWS) Dancers community, are Annisa Widowati Sundari Dancers Community or better known as AWS Dancers in maintaining their existence and achievements, can increase their flight hours in following various dance cover competitions and competitions as much as possible by calculating expenses well. In order to produce better research in the future, especially research related to K-Pop is, it would be better if it could examine other K-Pop fan communities and develop various theories and research methods to add insight and scientific treasures.

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